Table of Contents
1.Easy to fill
A humidifier must be easy to fill.
I have had humidifiers in the past that you could barely get the tank underneath the faucet in the kitchen to fill it up.
You practically have to turn the thing sideways to get it out from underneath the faucet.
And you can’t expect to do so without spilling some of the water.
Also , If I have to turn it upside down to fill it, that means I’m going to get water everywhere.
An easy to fill humidifier that fills from the top and fits in my sink is a must have for a plant humidifier.
2. Easy to clean
Humidifiers are well known to be maintenance heavy devices that require cleaning at least once a week.
And I can tell you that if it’s too hard to mess with, breaking it down and such, it’s probably not going to get done as often as it needs to.
That’s why, when it comes to a humidifier, one of the main things I’m looking for is how easy it is to clean.
On that note, I want to stick it in the dishwasher if I can, and just be done.
An Easy to clean is a “humidifier must have”. Plant or otherwise.
3. Humidity meter (Hygrometer)
Keeping the proper Humidity balance is such an important part of staying healthy and keeping my plants thriving that I want to make sure that I’m running the humidifier only when I need it.
And though I can tell you when it feels muggy or if I’m experiencing more than my share of static electricity, that is not enough to ensure that the humidity level in the house is staying at the proper relative humidity range.
The bottom line is, without a humidity meter (hygrometer) , I have no idea of what my RH (relative humidity) actually is.
One of my “humidifier must haves” is the inclusion of a hygrometer to provide me with an actual way of measuring the humidity without guessing.
4. Humidistat
Along the same lines as a humidity meter, a humidistat turns the humidifier on and off to adjust to the humidity in the room.
It’s very much like a thermostat that you use for your heat and air conditioning. For instance, if you want your room to be 75°, you set your thermostat at 75 and the room slowly adjusts to that temperature.
That’s exactly the same way a humidistat works except for it adjusts the room for relative humidity level.
Smart humidifiers rely on sensors to tell the humidistat to adjust the humidity.
5. Auto shut off
If you have ever owned a basic drug store plastic humidifier then you know what I’m talking about already.
Most humidifiers from yesteryear were basic machines that you feel with water and turn on.
And the machine would stay on regardless until you hit the off button.Which made it not uncommon to come along and find your humidifier bone dry and still running.
Luckily “auto shut off” is a feature you can find fairly easily when you are shopping around for a humidifier these days.
Indicator lights and alerts are also part of the norm for humidifiers these days.
Smart humidifiers can even send you a text when the humidifier is about to be out of water.
Auto shut off is a must-have for your plant humidifier
6. Extra long run time.
A large basin that can hold enough water that my humidifier can run for at least a couple of days without me having to fill it is an essential convenience.
Along the same lines as having to clean it all the time, there is the built-in necessity of having to fill a humidifier with water continuously.
That’s why having a large water tank that doesn’t have to be filled as often is a must-have on the humidifier features list.
7. Warm or cool mist options
Some plants do better with steamier air because it creates more of a simulation of their natural habitat. Many tropical plants for instance are used to heavy humidity and high temperatures all day.
That being said, you may not want a vaporizer running all the time because they are steamier which can make the room feel swampy and it cost more to run a warm mist humidifier.
That’s why owning a humidifier that has both an option to use it as a warm mist or cool mist is a must have for me.
8. Aromatherapy / essential oils
Using essential oils around your plants may not seem like such a great idea until you realize that there are many essential oils and aromatherapy blends that will stop fungal growth.
They also Repel insects, and provide an all-natural alternative to fertilizers that have harmful chemicals and poisons in them.
The inclusion of an aromatherapy tray on a plant humidifier is an absolute must have feature.
9. Wi-Fi
Every home appliance you can think of these days as a Wi-Fi version.
Some of them make a lot of sense and some not so much.
Having the option to monitor your humidifier through an app is a good idea because you can view the relative humidity in your home from a remote location and get an alert letting you know when your water is nearly gone.
You can even turn the humidifier light on, via your phone.
10. Quiet
Humidifiers are so noisy that they are practically White noise machines.
Which can be a good thing for some people and I know that kind of “white noise” can help a baby sleep,
But it’s not for me.
I don’t want a device in the bedroom or the living room but I have to turn the TV or radio up to hear it.
Having a humidifier that is quiet is a must have feature for me.
11. Germ-free
The latest innovation in humidifiers is the addition of different types of options to keep your humidifier germ-free.
Antimicrobial plastic and ultraviolet light are the main ideals at the forefront.
If a guy could get all the features included in this list and top it off with the option of being germ and bacteria free,
I would say that you would have the ultimate plant humidifier.
